luvpooh
oh bother!
- Joined
- Aug 23, 1999
- Messages
- 1,834
My sister and I just returned from a 4 night stay at Pop Century. We loved it!
We checked in around 11:45 on Wednesday, 9/30. We waited in line about 5 minutes and were assisted by Marcus. He was very pleasant and prompt. I asked for a refrigerator and a non-smoking room, but that was it. Our room was ready, 0262, in 70's building B. We pulled the car around to the front and left our bags with the luggage assistance CM.
We then drove over to the 70's building and got a close spot to the walkway to the 70's building, near the lake. Well, this has to be about my only complaint, that is a FAR walk! We later found that if we parked in the lot for the 80's building (the first turn after the bus stop in front of the resort) it was MUCH closer to our room, but the lot is small and was often full.
We got to our room, what a great location! It was the second room in from the stairwell on the second floor of the building with the Big Wheel, overlooking the courtyard, by the Goofy fountain thing. The stairwell was right next to Everything Pop, and very close to the bus stop as well (by walking around the side of the main building, not having to go inside). Our refrigerator was already in the room, and our luggage arrived right behind us.
Our room was a standard 2 double bed value resort room, very much like the All Star resorts rooms, but nicer. The furniture and the fixtures weren't as 'loud' as the All Stars, but other than that it was the same. The curtains are good, block out a lot of sunlight. In fact, one morning when I woke up I was disappointed because I thought it was raining since it was so dark, but no, I opened the door and there was plenty of sunshine!
As far as the noise, I never heard any noise from the courtyard. I heard some flushes, especially if you were in the bathroom, but nothing disruptive. The only noise I heard was when people passed directly by our room, but it wasn't moreso than any other outdoor corridor noise. This was a big concern of mine having read reports prior to our stay, and I almost switched resorts because of it, I'm glad I didn't, because noise wasn't an issue at all.
The pool was very nice, especially with the weather being so hot. We went 3 days, anywhere between 2 and 6, and it was never crowded to the point where you didn't get a chair or have your space in the pool. We only used the Hippy Dippy pool, so I can't comment on the others.
The bar was good, good drinks, good service (outdoor bar).
We only used the food court once, on the day we arrived, and got some packaged things from the cooler area, hummus, bagel chips, grapes and a cheese platter. Everything was good and fresh. The cheese platter had cheddar, dill havarti, Kalamata olives, grapes, celery and carrots, very good. Unfortunately, we didn't get to eat there any other times, so I'm not sure about the quality of the prepared food.
The gift shop was very nice, and has a large selection of items. It can get crowded at times, and I don't care for all of the interactive things they have (charm bracelets, powdered candy tubes like pixy stix that you can fill yourself, build a princess crown, build a potato head) but only for the reason that it seems that a lot of kids go in unattended and put things together and make a general mess, and things get ruined or wasted (in the case of the candy) as well as the fact that they'll stand there for ages so that you can't do what you want to do, and they were just playing around. I can't fault the resort for this though...(stepping off my soapbox).
Transportation seemed efficient the few times we took the bus. We waited 10 minutes at the most. Big pluses, the stop at MGM is closest to the entrance, and no bus sharing anywhere. It also seems as if Pop is very centrally located and a close ride to everything.
I think that covers it all. I would definitely stay at Pop again, however I would hesitate to do so during a busy time, it may make for crowded pools, food court, shops, and for more noise.
If anyone has any questions at all, please feel free to ask!
We checked in around 11:45 on Wednesday, 9/30. We waited in line about 5 minutes and were assisted by Marcus. He was very pleasant and prompt. I asked for a refrigerator and a non-smoking room, but that was it. Our room was ready, 0262, in 70's building B. We pulled the car around to the front and left our bags with the luggage assistance CM.
We then drove over to the 70's building and got a close spot to the walkway to the 70's building, near the lake. Well, this has to be about my only complaint, that is a FAR walk! We later found that if we parked in the lot for the 80's building (the first turn after the bus stop in front of the resort) it was MUCH closer to our room, but the lot is small and was often full.
We got to our room, what a great location! It was the second room in from the stairwell on the second floor of the building with the Big Wheel, overlooking the courtyard, by the Goofy fountain thing. The stairwell was right next to Everything Pop, and very close to the bus stop as well (by walking around the side of the main building, not having to go inside). Our refrigerator was already in the room, and our luggage arrived right behind us.
Our room was a standard 2 double bed value resort room, very much like the All Star resorts rooms, but nicer. The furniture and the fixtures weren't as 'loud' as the All Stars, but other than that it was the same. The curtains are good, block out a lot of sunlight. In fact, one morning when I woke up I was disappointed because I thought it was raining since it was so dark, but no, I opened the door and there was plenty of sunshine!
As far as the noise, I never heard any noise from the courtyard. I heard some flushes, especially if you were in the bathroom, but nothing disruptive. The only noise I heard was when people passed directly by our room, but it wasn't moreso than any other outdoor corridor noise. This was a big concern of mine having read reports prior to our stay, and I almost switched resorts because of it, I'm glad I didn't, because noise wasn't an issue at all.
The pool was very nice, especially with the weather being so hot. We went 3 days, anywhere between 2 and 6, and it was never crowded to the point where you didn't get a chair or have your space in the pool. We only used the Hippy Dippy pool, so I can't comment on the others.
The bar was good, good drinks, good service (outdoor bar).
We only used the food court once, on the day we arrived, and got some packaged things from the cooler area, hummus, bagel chips, grapes and a cheese platter. Everything was good and fresh. The cheese platter had cheddar, dill havarti, Kalamata olives, grapes, celery and carrots, very good. Unfortunately, we didn't get to eat there any other times, so I'm not sure about the quality of the prepared food.
The gift shop was very nice, and has a large selection of items. It can get crowded at times, and I don't care for all of the interactive things they have (charm bracelets, powdered candy tubes like pixy stix that you can fill yourself, build a princess crown, build a potato head) but only for the reason that it seems that a lot of kids go in unattended and put things together and make a general mess, and things get ruined or wasted (in the case of the candy) as well as the fact that they'll stand there for ages so that you can't do what you want to do, and they were just playing around. I can't fault the resort for this though...(stepping off my soapbox).
Transportation seemed efficient the few times we took the bus. We waited 10 minutes at the most. Big pluses, the stop at MGM is closest to the entrance, and no bus sharing anywhere. It also seems as if Pop is very centrally located and a close ride to everything.
I think that covers it all. I would definitely stay at Pop again, however I would hesitate to do so during a busy time, it may make for crowded pools, food court, shops, and for more noise.
If anyone has any questions at all, please feel free to ask!
